The
V-1 (known to the Germans as a FZG-76 as it was designed by the Fiesler
company) was an unmanned, un-guided, flying bomb. It was of simple
design but was capable of causing massive damage and loss of life.
The
V-1 was a liquid fuelled, pulse-jet drone aircraft that could carry a
2,000 lb warhead to southern England. The problem of unmanned navigation
was overcome by simply pointing it in the correct direction, setting a
gyrocompass to keep it level and putting just enough fuel in it to get
it to its target. The Germans called it their "Vergeltungswaffe"
or "retaliation weapon". It was so called to give the
impression that it was the beginning of a series of terror weapons that
would be developed. The V-1 rockets were referred to by various
different names ranging from "Buzz bombs", "Bumble
bombs", "Robot bombs" and most commonly
"Doodlebugs". The Germans liked to refer to them as "hell
hounds" and "fire dragons".

PICTURE:
Click the V-1 Rocket to listen to its terrifying drone. Imagine hearing this sound overhead!

A Series
of fixed launching sites were constructed in France, Holland, Denmark
and Germany to allow the Germans to shower V-1s on any part of southern
England. Initially AA Guns were placed in the cities, namely London to
shoot down any doodlebugs that were approaching but the AA guns were
quickly moved to the South Coast to intercept the rockets. The British
quickly became expert at spotting and shooting them down with only some
25% of the V-1s hitting their target. They established defensive zones,
first were the fighters (Mosquitoes, Spitfires and Typhoons) over the
English channel, then came a zone of heavy AA guns equipped with the
first radar proximity fuses, then a zone of light AA guns and rocket
projectors and finally barrage balloons. The effects of this strategy
can clearly be seen in the period between June and September 1944 when,
of the 6725 launched, 3463 were destroyed by the AA guns, fighters or
balloons.

Civilians did, to a
certain extent, get used to the V-1 menace. They considered if the
engine of the V-1 was still heard they were fairly safe. It was only if
it cut out overhead and began to dive that it was wise to take shelter.
On the 7th September 1944, Duncan Sandys, the Minister of Supply,
announced that the V-1 menace was over and unwisely declared that the
V-2 rocket would not amount to much.

V-2
ROCKETS

The
secret V-2 was not really a secret to the allies who had been
endeavouring to hamper development of this weapon but were unable to
halt production indefinitely. As the allied armies advanced on the
crumbling third Reich, Chiswick, West London, was awoken by a violent explosion. This was on Friday 8th September 1944
and was the first V-2 Rocket to land on British soil killing 3 people and
injuring 17.

PICTURE: V-2
Rocket ready for launching

The V-2 Rocket was seen by many as a last
desperate attempt by Hitler to
crush Britain. The V-2 had a range of 186 miles (300 km) and its warhead
consisted of 2,200 lb of high explosive. It was 47' (14.3 m) in length
and spanned 10' (3 m) and was much more
expensive to produce than the V-1. It was highly inaccurate and it was impossible to intercept after launch. It climbed to a height of 60
miles and descended in unguided ballistic flight with the velocity of up to 2500 mph - an incredible
speed! Indeed this was 3-4 times the speed of sound as the double boom
of its arrival indicated. The double boom was then followed by a strange
whooshing sound. This sound was created when the plunging missile pushed
its way through the denser air it met as it approached the ground.
If it landed in a built up area it was a
massively destructive weapon. V-2's often arrived with no warning as
there was no way of sounding air raid sirens in time or hearing the
engine unlike the distinctive noise of the V-1's engine.

The V-2 Rockets were
developed in Peenemunde, Germany as early as 1943 but production was set
back after the RAF heavily bombed the V-2 factories and research
establishments in August 1943. This was a severe blow to Germany and
saved not only London from massive destruction but the allied armies
landing in Normandy in June 1944. However between 8th September 1944 and
27th March 1945, 1054 rockets were launched on Britain with 500 directed
at London.

V-1
AND V-2 STATISTICS

PICTURE:
The
price of victory?

At war’s end, 10,611 V-1s and
1054 V-2s hit Britain killing 8,588 and wounding 46,838, which was only
a fraction of the casualties inflicted by Germany’s conventional air
attacks. The Germans simply did not have enough V weapons and even if they did
they weren’t as accurate as they should have been. Hitler was obsessed
with pointing the V weapons at London instead of at the massive armies
that were advancing on the Reich. It was a last ditch attempt by
Hitler to crush the British Spirit.

The main purpose of the V Weapons
was to terrorise the British civilian population so that the war against
Germany would not continue. This failed completely with the weapons not
being used until Germany had effectively lost
the war.